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Defiant, angry new music from Mali, by the world's greatest exponent of the ngoni, the ancient West African lute. There are four different ngonis in Bassekou Kouyate's band, and two of them are now played by his sons Moustafa and Mamadou, while his wife, Amy Sacko, adds powerful vocals with help from the great Kasse Mady Diabaté and others. But it's Bassekou who dominates, with a new, tougher, amplified ngoni style that shows the influence of co-producer Howard Bilerman, who has also worked with Arcade Fire. His furious, exhilarating solos make use of a wah-wah pedal, and his new songs reflect Mali's political chaos. Sinaly uses stories from Mali's past to attack those enforcing radical Islamic law in the North, Ne Me Fatigue Pas is an angry reaction to last year's military coup, while the title track is a plea for a return to the tolerant Mali of the past. Magnificent.

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